Apicorp's headquarters in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The lender was established in 1975. Photo: Apicorp
Apicorp's headquarters in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The lender was established in 1975. Photo: Apicorp
Apicorp's headquarters in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The lender was established in 1975. Photo: Apicorp
Apicorp's headquarters in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The lender was established in 1975. Photo: Apicorp

Apicorp reports highest first-half profit yet as interest rates rise


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, a multilateral lender focused on the energy sector, reported its highest first-half profit yet while operating income grew as interest rates rose.

Apicorp’s total comprehensive income in the six months to the end of June rose by 87 per cent year-on-year to $108.7 million, the company said on Tuesday.

Net operating income increased 32 per cent annually to $129 million on “operations efficiencies, rising interest rate environment, and funding optimisation”, it said.

Total assets during the period grew by 10.3 per cent as a result of $600 million worth of long-term external funding taken in the first quarter of 2023 to replace aged borrowings in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“The first six months of the year saw Apicorp continue to strengthen its financial position with record results and notable achievements at the corporate and business unit levels,” Aabed Al Saadoun, undersecretary for oil and gas affairs at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy and chairman of Apicorp, said.

“We look forward to continuing this robust momentum with more meaningful impact-driven investments which support the energy transition agenda of our member countries and the broader Mena region.”

Apicorp is owned by 10 members of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Libya, Iraq, Qatar, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt and Syria.

The multilateral lender was established in 1975 to extend financial support to Arab countries in the energy sector.

Apicorp’s investment portfolio increased to $1.3 billion for the January-June period, from $1.2 billion, with the successful exit from Ashtead Technology “recording better-than-expected capital gains”, it said.

In July, Apicorp said it completed the sale of its equity investment in Ashtead, a provider of technologically-advanced subsea solutions, tools and systems to the construction and maintenance of offshore energy infrastructure. It made the investment in the company in 2016 along with UK-based private equity firm, Buckthorn Partners.

The lender's corporate banking portfolio grew 5 per cent year-on-year to $4.3 billion and net interest income rose 10 per cent to $45.9 million, benefitting from a favourable interest rate environment, it said.

Interest rates continued to climb globally as central banks raised interest rates to tame inflation, boosting the profit margin of lenders.

Apicorp’s treasury and capital markets portfolio increased by $1 billion annually to reach $3.9 billion, recording a net income of $11.9 million.

“Taking advantage of the favourable interest environment, we continued to optimise our business structure, operations, and expand our range of innovative impact-driven financial and investment solutions,” Khalid Al Ruwaigh, chief executive of Apicorp, said.

“Not only do we carefully observe the short-term results, but also we plan for the future of Apicorp, hence we have finalised our five-year corporate strategy and launched the rebranding exercise.

“In doing so, we strive to further cement our legacy as a leading enabler of a secure and sustainable energy future for the region.”

THE SPECS

Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre

Transmission: Seven-speed auto

Power: 165hp

Torque: 241Nm

Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000

On sale: now

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BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

MATCH SCHEDULE

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)

Liverpool v Roma

Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)

Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26

Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)

SRI LANKA SQUAD

Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile

Started: 2013

Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

Sector: e-commerce

Size: 600 plus

Stage: still in talks with VCs

Principal Investors: self-financed by founder

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

THE%20SPECS
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Updated: September 05, 2023, 10:35 AM